09 September 2009

Since Teabagger, Nazi, and right-wing terrorist are pejoratives that have been so overused to defend the hapless Obama administration that they have lost all meaning, Washington Times notes that the new keyword to show your hate for the red states is "Tenther". This is a reference to those radical right-wing populists that believe in the 10th amendment, I guess. From Washington Times:

Liberal activists have a new name to disparage conservatives: "tenthers."

The nickname refers to those who cite the 10th Amendment to argue that federal intervention in areas not authorized by the Constitution, like health care for example, is unconstitutional.

This follows other names such as "birthers," "deathers" and "tea baggers."

Health care reform supporters at the Center for American Progress, the American Prospect, MSNBC and other outlets have deployed the term against Republicans who cite the 10th Amendment as reason not to create new programs. Some of the leading Republican proponents of the allegedly "dangerous" and "conspiratorial" theory include Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

Apparently, the term stems from this American Prospect last month and Digby, Yglesias, and Crooks and Liars have both incorporated it into their musings. If taking a strict interpretation of the constitution makes you a square, I'd sure like to know where these progressives think the power of the federal government to intervene stops.

Who is This Clown?

Nixon is a former Navy guy who did a couple of deployments at sea and spent a year in Iraq. He enjoys reading and writing about the strange intersection between war, politics, and the media. He enjoys being an ex-pat and NGO employee in Bangkok for the time being.